The following is the abstract from my dissertation, Examining Effects of Visual Interaction Methods on Unmanned Aircraft Operator Situational Awareness (soon to be available on ProQuest). If you would like to learn more please feel to contact me.
The limited field of view of static egocentric visual displays employed in unmanned aircraft controls introduces the soda straw effect on operators, which significantly affects their ability to capture and maintain situational awareness by not depicting peripheral visual data. The problem with insufficient operator situational awareness is the resulting increased potential for error and oversight during operation of unmanned aircraft, leading to accidents and mishaps costing United States taxpayers between $4 million to $54 million per year. The purpose of this quantitative experimental completely randomized design study was to examine and compare use of dynamic eyepoint to static visual interaction in a simulated stationary egocentric environment to determine which, if any, resulted in higher situational awareness. The theoretical framework for the study established the premise that the amount of available visual information could affect the situational awareness of an operator and increasing visual information through dynamic eyepoint manipulation may result in higher situational awareness than static visualization. Four experimental dynamic interaction methods were examined (analog joystick, head tracker, uninterrupted hat/point of view switch, and incremental hat/point of view switch) and compared to a single static method (the control treatment). The five methods were used in experimental testing with 150 participants to determine a mean situational awareness score for each method. One way analysis of variance and a post hoc Scheffe test were used to determine the existence of statistical significance and ranking of results. The results indicated mean situational awareness scores associated with all four of the dynamic visual interaction methods were significantly higher than the static method, F (4, 145). The primary difference between the four dynamic visual interaction methods was their unique manipulation approaches to control the orientation of the simulated eyepoint. The use of a dynamic eyepoint significantly increased the situational awareness of a user within a stationary egocentric environment, indicating that employing dynamic control would reduce the occurrence or consequences of the soda straw effect. Further research is necessary to determine if the results of this study are also true for a moving egocentric environment, which is subject to differing dependencies and external variables.
I successfully defended this dissertation and was conferred the title of Ph.D. in Business Administration (with specialization in Aviation) on Friday, 27 April 2012.
Here is a copy (in *.pdf format) of my dissertation defense presentation.
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